I’ve been waiting for The Other Zoey to come out since this summer.
I think I may be the biggest fan of rom-coms, from cheesy, crappy ones like The Kissing Booth to amazing classics like Notting Hill. So naturally, The Other Zoey was sure to make it to my list for the rom-com aspect and the Drew Starkey aspect.
The Other Zoey centers around college student Zoey Miller (Josephine Langford), who is so adamantly against love that she creates a compatibility dating app because she believes that good relationships are based on similarities, not feelings. While the app is a trivial detail in the movie, it adds more understanding to Zoey’s feelings. After complaining about love in class on Valentine’s Day, Zoey and her friend, Elle (Mallori Johnson), are walking through campus when Zoey is hit by a soccer ball. The ball was, of course, kicked by Zach MacLaren (Drew Starkey), whom Zoey has nothing in common with.
Naturally, Zach just so happens to walk into the bookstore where Zoey works. After checking out, Zach forgets his credit card and gets hit by a car backing out of a parking spot while Zoey is trying to return his card. One concussion later, Zach thinks Zoey, of the bookstore, is his girlfriend Zoey Wallace (Maggie Thurmon), the college soccer captain. Zoey goes along with it, hoping to tell his parents and have them break it to Zach that she isn’t the other Zoey. But once Zoey meets Zach’s cousin Miles (Archie Renaux), she forgets all reason and continues to pretend in hopes of getting close to Miles.
Besides the obvious questionable morals of Zoey, I enjoyed this movie. The movie felt very holiday-themed, especially with the weekend trip to the mountains that Zoey took with Zach’s family. My favorite part of the movie was definitely Drew Starkey, the main reason I wanted to watch it in the first place.
Unfortunately, The Other Zoey was not free of my rom-com enemy: typical stereotyped characters. Zoey is the nerd who has no love experience. Zach is the college’s star athlete. The other Zoey is a rich, entitled brat who definitely doesn’t deserve Zach. Other than the boring, over-used character types, The Other Zoey was an enjoyable watch.
The acting was alright throughout the movie. I think that Drew Starkey and Josephine Langford did well, and I enjoyed watching them. Starkey is hands-down my favorite actor on the Netflix show Outer Banks. On the other hand, I didn’t have much knowledge of Langford, other than After, which I can’t remember if I finished because it was so insignificant in my rom-com ranking.
I loved the idea of this movie. I am beyond sad that it was only an hour and 30 minutes. I wish it had more details and time. I feel that by the end, the couple (of whom, I will leave unnamed) came together too quickly. I needed more longing. The Other Zoey would’ve made a phenomenal book rather than a good movie. The length of a book would’ve allowed for more detail, which I would love, but unfortunately, wouldn’t have Drew Starkey’s face.
While The Other Zoey was good, I wish it had given me more.
